Our first grandchild was born in March of 2021, so we weren't allowed in the hospital due to Covid restrictions. We anxiously awaited her arrival from the hospital parking lot. After a complicated delivery, she made it here safely. We were able to meet her two days later when they were discharged from the hospital.
Fast forward to October 24th, 2023 and we were sitting in my daughter's hospital room anxiously awaiting the arrival of our 2nd grandchild. We didn't know the gender this time, so it felt even more exciting! She was dilated to 8cm but was comfortable so we were all laughing and enjoying each other's company, as we knew it would be pretty soon. That is when things went south and a large team of medical professionals started running into her room saying they needed to check her and put in a catheter. My husband and I decided to leave the room to give them privacy (not knowing anything was wrong). Standing in the hallway, we were quickly told we had to go downstairs. After about 30 minutes of knowing nothing, we finally were told we could come up but we knew something was very wrong.
Audrey Rose Workman, our second grandchild and granddaughter was born silent. She was born not breathing on her own but with a very low heartrate. She had been immediately resuscitated and intubated. She was on life support and extremely sick. She died less than 48 hours later. This is something none of us expected in a million years - especially with such a textbook, healthy pregnancy.
Since that awful day last year, my daughter (Audrey's mother) has quit her corporate job and joined an incredible organization called Out of the Ashes Foundation. It is a non-profit ministry based out of Charlotte, NC that serves families suffering infertility, pregnancy and infant loss. She has now made it her life's mission to help other families suffering these unimaginable losses.
Please join us in supporting this incredible organization and their biggest event of the year by donating to our fundraiser, signing up to run or walk in Audrey's honor, or volunteering at the event. We have a goal of fundraising $10,000 this year in Audrey's honor. This will help us honor Audrey's life and support other's going through this loss.
I'll be walking in honor of the countless families grieving pregnancy loss, infant loss & infertility. Their lives will be honored as Out of the Ashes Foundation uses its resources to serve more and more bereaved parents through their ministry. Will you join us, honor these families, and expand the reach of this ministry?
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Ways your money supports bereaved families:
• Creating and shipping gifts and cards to bereaved parents
• Funding our Medical Bill Relief Grant, which covers bills associated with loss & infertility discovery
• Launching and facilitating our Couples Connect group
• Hosting events for families to connect and share their stories
• Paying our staff members to keep things running
